The room is cold and sterile with a bare concrete floor. Brushed steel panels cover the walls and reflect the bright light of the wide halogen lamps above, which are humming quietly. There is a dark blue rectangular metal table standing in the very middle of the room. There is an air vent in the north wall near the floor.
The maple forest is refreshingly noisy with life after the ersatz quiet of the room. Birds flit between the branches and the soft groundcover in the midday light. The air is slightly chilly and has an earthy smell. Through a break in the treetops you can see the tip of a radio tower topped with flashing red lights.
The path is narrow, twisting, and covered in leaf litter and mud. It is little more than a line of broken undergrowth between the trees, and would seem rarely used were it not for someone else's single muddled footprint left visible in a soft patch of earth on my right. Next to the footprint is a stamp-sized metal square lying on the ground.
Here is a small, fast river cutting through the forest from east to west in an extremely straight line. The water is shallow and clear, and small, polished pebbles are visible on the bottom. The sun glints off the water.
There is a canteen here covered in rough black cloth. It is partially buried in the dirt. Painted on the canteen is a a dark blue star inside a grey square. The canteen is open and contains a clear liquid.
The key is of the sliding key-card variety, a small, thin plastic rectangle with a black magnetic strip on the back. The front reads, "Security Scout Patrol" and has the star and square symbol. It probably unlocks a secure area back in the main complex.